[achr2]

Microsoft is nowhere near dead, not in the short to medium term anyway - and if you're a startup, that is all that matters. MS can put a 100 million dollars into a product sphere and not bat an eye if it fails within a few years (see Nokia). I wouldn't discount them anytime soon.

[Hydraulix989]

Yes, but startups execute faster than big companies. They also make bigger/riskier bets.